Summary Information
Milwaukee Solvay Quarter Century Club Records
1912-1983
- Milwaukee Solvay Quarter Century Club
UWM Manuscript Collection 57
- 2 cubic ft. (3 boxes and 3 volumes)
- 1054 digital files (26.5 GB)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Records of the Milwaukee Solvay Quarter Century Club
(1943-1983), an association of veteran employees of Milwaukee Solvay Coke Company, a
manufacturer of coke and coke byproducts. The records document the club's activities and
development, and include constitutions and bylaws, correspondence between club directors,
membership lists, membership death notices, minute books, photographs of club activities and
company facilities, secretary's reports, Christmas cards and Christmas party programs,
company histories, and a small quantity of the papers of club historian Herbert Hinz. The
club was devoted mainly to social activities and to the recognition of longtime company
employees. The collection contains publications issued by Milwaukee Solvay and its parent
companies, including the Schlesinger Interests' Conveyor
(1914-1921), the Koppers Company's Koppers News (1928-1930),
the Milwaukee Solvay News (1942-1962), the Pickands, Mather
and Company Producer (1966-1972), and a catalog of the
Newport Company (1921). The publications provide limited documentation regarding the
operations of Milwaukee Solvay and its parent companies.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0057 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Armin Schlesinger of the Schlesinger Interests incorporated the Milwaukee Solvay Coke
Company as the Milwaukee Coke and Gas Company on December 9, 1902. In 1905 the company
constructed a plant and supplied Solvay gas under contract to the Milwaukee Gas Light
Company. Through the early 1920s Milwaukee Coke and Gas was operated as a subsidiary of the
Newport Company, also controlled by the Schelsinger Interests. The Koppers Company, a
Chicago-based coke and manufactured gas conglomerate, acquired Milwaukee Coke and Gas in the
mid-1920s. Milwaukee Coke and Gas Company changed its name to Milwaukee Solvay Coke Company
in 1942, and on January 3, 1947 the company was purchased by the Milwaukee Gas Light
Company. Byproduct (manufactured) gas from Milwaukee Solvay's coking operations was sold to
Milwaukee Gas Light which supplied gas for public use in the Milwaukee area. In 1949
Milwaukee Gas Light switched to the use of natural gas, though Milwaukee Solvay continued to
produce manufactured gas in case of an interruption in the natural gas supply.
Pickands, Mather and Company acquired Milwaukee Solvay in 1962. Pickands, Mather and its
predecessor companies had served as sales agents and shippers of Milwaukee Solvay's products
since 1911. In the late 1970s Milwaukee Solvay was purchased by the Wisconsin Gas Company,
which had changed its name from Milwaukee Gas Light in 1965. The Milwaukee Solvay Coke
Company was closed in 1983. During its 80 years of operation, Milwaukee Solvay produced
metallurgical coke for use in the production of steel, foundry coke for use in castings
manufacture, and various byproducts from its coking operations, such as coal gas and coal
tar. At its peak, the company operated 200 coke ovens, employed 370 workers, and conducted
operations around the clock.
The Milwaukee Solvay Quarter Century Club was organized in May 1943 by employees with 25 or
more years of company service at a meeting in the company's sales office on North Milwaukee
Street. According to its constitution, the club was formed "for the purpose of promoting
good fellowship between the members thereof, the preservation of the common ideals which
have been their inspiration in the past and the better establishment of their identity with
the Company to which so large a part of their lives has been devoted." Herbert Hinz, club
historian, described the organization as "primarily a social one at which meetings pleasure,
entertainment, social contacts with blendings of sentiment and humor are stressed as much as
possible while relegating the business end of the organization to an absolute minimum." The
club met in May and September each year and held an annual Christmas party, and continued to
function until Milwaukee Solvay ceased operations in 1983.
Arrangement of the Materials
Files of the Quarter Century Club (located in box 1) are organized alphabetically by
personal name, name of organization, or by subject, then chronologically. The publications
(located in box 2) are arranged alphabetically by title, then chronologically.
Preferred Citation
Citation Guide for Primary Sources
Related Material in the UWM Libraries
Administrative/Restriction Information
There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all
members of the public in accordance with state law.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel,
privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin
Statutes 19.21-19.39).
Herbert G. Hinz and John F. Steiner of the Bay View Historical Society (Milwaukee,
Wisconsin) donated the collection to the Archives on August 10, 1992.
Processed by James P. Kusik at the Golda Meir Library in January 1995. Christel Maass
reboxed box 2 (into boxes 2-3 and volumes 1-3) in October 2017.
Contents List
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Bay View Historical Society, 1983
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Electronic Folder
\Box01\
Folder01\
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Digital
14 digital files (354 MB)
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Physical
|
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Christmas Cards, 1973-1980, undated
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Electronic Folder
\Box01\
Folder31\
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Digital
35 digital files (707 MB)
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Box
1
Folder
31
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Physical
|
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Box
1
Folder
32
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Christmas Parties, 1954-1964
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Company Histories, 1946-1988
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Electronic Folder
\Box01\
Folder02\
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Digital
11 digital files (505 MB)
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Physical
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Box
1
Folder
33
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Constitution and By-Laws, 1960-1969
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Conveyor
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Volume
1-3
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1914-1919
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Box
2
Folder
1-2
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1920-1921
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Box
1
Folder
34
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Death Notices, 1954-1969
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Box
1
Folder
35
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Directors, 1958
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Habermann, William, Photographs, 1912-1922, undated
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Hinz, Herbert, Poems, Prayers and Pledges,
undated
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Box
1
Folder
36
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History, 1961
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Koppers News,
1928-1930
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Membership and Seniority Lists, 1943-1980
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Electronic Folder
\Box01\
Folder37-38\
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Digital
366 digital files (10.8 GB)
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Box
1
Folder
37-38
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Physical
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Milwaukee Solvay News
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Box
2
Folder
4-7
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1942-1950
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Box
3
Folder
1-4
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1951-1962
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Box
1
Folder
39-41
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Minute Book, 1943-1960
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Box
1
Folder
42-48
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Minutes, 1959-1966
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Newport Company, Catalog, 1921-1992
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Box
1
Folder
49
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Photographs, 1946-1958, undated
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Pitchford, Eugene, 1980
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Electronic Folder
\Box01\
Folder08\
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Digital
5 digital files (109 MB)
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Physical
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Box
3
Folder
5
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Producer,
1966-1972
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Publications Notes, undated
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Electronic Folder
\Box01\
Folder05\
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Digital
17 digital files (344 MB)
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Physical
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Quarter Century Club, 1961-1982
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Electronic Folder
\Box01\
Folder09-30\
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Digital, Folder 9
606 digital files (13.7 GB)
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Box
1
Folder
9-30
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Physical
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Box
1
Folder
50-53
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Secretary's Reports, 1969-1972
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Service Watches and Pins, 1945-1967
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